Applicator Attenuation Effect on Dose Calculations of Esophageal High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy Using EDR2 Film

Introduction Interaluminal brachytherapy is one of the important methods of esophageal cancer treatment. The effect of applicator attenuation is not considered in dose calculation method released by AAPM-TG43. In this study, the effect of High-Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy esophageal applicator on dose distribution was surveyed in HDR brachytherapy. Materials and Methods A cylindrical PMMA phantom was built in order to be inserted by various sizes of esophageal applicators. EDR2 films were placed at 33 mm from Ir-192 source and irradiated with 1.5 Gy after planning using treatment planning system for all applicators. Results The results of film dosimetry in reference point for 6, 8, 10, and 20 mm applicators were 1.54, 1.53, 1.48, and 1.50 Gy, respectively. The difference between practical and treatment planning system results was 0.023 Gy (<2.7%), on average. Conclusion Due to the similar practical results for different esophageal applicators, it can be concluded that attenuation properties of applicator wall doesn't have a significant difference with water and therefore the Flexiplan treatment planning system accuracy is further confirmed